(Näfels, September 5, 2013) To strengthen its international competitiveness and thereby secure the future of the site in the longer term, Netstal will realign itself strategically. Netstal will be successively concentrating on its core expertise as a premium supplier of injection molding machines and developing the Näfels site into a center of excellence. In the course of this process, the activities of Research & Development, Sales, Systems and Application Engineering, Final Assembly and Service will be based at the Näfels site and broadened.
Reinforcing the competitive international position of the Netstal brand
"Our goal is to strengthen the position of Netstal as a premium brand and to develop the Näfels site in an ever-competitive market environment with intense cost pressure while boosting its international competitiveness and innovative capacity. By the same token, we at Näfels aim to meet the premium requirements of our customers by concentrating more on fast-cycling premium products with extremely short cycle times and highest levels of precision," explains Dr. Hans Ulrich Golz, CEO of Netstal. For a year now, the value creation process at Näfels has been under review with regard to future market demands. This review process will be actively continued and any necessary structural measures will be phased in.
Center of excellence for key technological areas
In recent weeks, rotary parts manufacturing has been discontinued, while work has been under way to expand the scope of product development and technological support for customers in the beverages and packaging industries, medical engineering and high-precision parts. One example is the relocating of the KraussMaffei PETForm product portfolio from Munich to Näfels so that all PET-related technology areas will be concentrated in Näfels in future. "In the course of the planned structural realignment, machining and module preassembly will gradually be transferred to sister plants within the KraussMaffei Group in Germany and Slovakia. This will allow growth of the final assembly area at Näfels. At the same time, the Netstal premium brand will expand its core expertise in areas such as Research and Development, Application Engineering as well as in Sales and Service," explains Golz. The five existing business units will continue to provide customer support.
World premieres mark launch of product and innovation drive
"In future, we aim to continue to offer our customers perfectly tailored products and services. This is why Netstal is launching a product and innovation drive that underscores the premium character of our brand with a host of world premieres at the drinktec and K 2013 trade shows in the fall of 2013," says Golz. Customers can look forward to highest levels of machine efficiency and performance – with minimal energy consumption, extremely short cycle times, low scrap rates, maximum precision and repeatability, and system configurations. To mark the drinktec 2013, Netstal will reinforce its world-leading market position in the PET sector by expanding its portfolio to include the PET-LINE 2400 and PET-LINE 4000, thus demonstrating its extensive expertise in applications and systems for beverage bottles and closures. Netstal will also kick off the drinktec and K 2013 by rolling out two new models from the successful ELION series - the ELION 4200 with a hybrid drive concept and an all-electric version of the ELION 2200.